Examinations

Annual examinations with your pet’s Veterinarian are important for your pet’s health. Here at Allwest Animal Hospital puppies and kittens begin their first examinations and vaccines at 6-8 weeks of age. Ideally, both kittens and puppies visit the doctor a total of four times, three weeks apart. At 12-16 weeks of age, rabies vaccinations are started; and optional but recommended vaccines such as lyme, lepto, bordetella vaccines for dogs and feline leukemia and feline Aids vaccines for cats are started at 8-12 weeks of age. It has been the norm for pets over one year of age to visit their Veterinarian once a year. Recently, however, the CVMA (Canadian Veterinary Medical Association) has recommended having pets examined every 6 months due to their rapid aging process. On average, our pets age 7 times faster than people. By age 5 our pets are considered to be middle age and by 8 to be considered a senior. Annual wellness visits are especially important with our older pets. Senior wellness includes bloodwork and urinalysis along with their examinations. Depending upon the case veterinarian could do general exams, neurologic exams, orthopedic exams, behavior consultations, or nutrition consultations during your visit. Checking blood pressure may be necessary for senior pets.

Complete physical exam/consultation is done before elective surgeries like spay/neuters or dental at no charge. This can be scheduled in the morning of the surgery day or any other day before the surgery.